At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sarah Kennedy watched as her husband, D.N., left for Mississippi, leaving her alone to care for their six children and control their slaves in a large home in downtown Clarksville, Tennessee. D. N. Kennedy left to aid the Confederate Treasury Department. He had steadfastly supported secession and helped recruit local boys for the Confederate army. The Civil War Letters of Sarah Kennedy: Life under Occupation in the Upper South showcases the letter...

Amid the rapid industrialization and urbanization of the early twentieth century, Progressive Era activists across the United States fought for social, political, and economic change. Tennessee women were no exception. In Constructing Citizenship: Tennessee Public Women in the Progressive Era, Mary A. Evins and Minoa D. Uffelman present a collection of essays that explore the contributions and civic engagement of women in Tennessee during this transformative period.Buildin...

In 1863, while living in Clarksville, Tennessee, Martha Ann Haskins, known to friends and family as Nannie, began a diary. The Diary of Nannie Haskins Williams: A Southern Woman’s Story of Rebellion and Reconstruction, 1863–1890 provides valuable insights into the conditions in occupied Middle Tennessee. A young, elite Confederate sympathizer, Nannie was on the cusp of adulthood with the expectation of becoming a mistress in a slaveholding society. The war ended this prospect, and...